The Split Humpty Lock
by MarinaTwilight013
Summary: There's a new student in Seiyo Elementary. Karei Sukia. She's hard to socialize with, but Amu is determined to become her friend. She succeeds and later finds out that she has Charas too. However, she refuses to join the Guardians. Later, when two Charas are fighting over Amu's lock, it splits in half and strangely reacts to Amu and Karei. What will happen next? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A new girl?

**So, I've recently been watching Shugo Chara, and I have to say, it's a great series! This story starts early in the series; before Kukai graduated and after Amu transforms into Amulet Clover for the first time. It continues on though, so don't worry, you will still see Rima and Nagihiko. On with the story!**

"Hey! Did you hear? There's a new student coming in the Grade 5 Star Class today!"

One boy passing by Amu exclaimed excitedly. This caught her attention. She focused on them as the two boys continued walking farther in front of her.

"Yeah," the other boy replied. "Apparently, she's from Canada but is half-Japanese. She speaks three languages!" He exclaimed before disappearing into Seiyo Elementary. Amu smiled to herself. A new girl meant that it was a new opportunity to make a new friend. Ran flew out of Amu's bag, followed by Miki and Su.

"Amu! Did you hear that? That new girl might have a guardian character!" Ran exclaimed, flying around and pumping her fists in the air. Miki nodded.

"She could." Miki said. Su began twirling around happily.

"That means that we can have more friends!" She giggled. Amu nodded.

"All right!" Amu exclaimed, jumping in the air. When she came down, she glanced at her phone. "YIKES! We're gonna be late! Let's go!" She made a mad dash for the school and bolted up the stairs to her classroom door. She caught her breath and walked in the door. She sat down in her seat and stared out the window. _I wonder what the new girl is like.._ she wondered.

She woke up to a loud bell ringing. _ I must have dozed off..._ She thought to herself, sitting up in her desk and looking at the front of the classroom. Yuu was on the floor picking up scattered papers, which he probably dropped when he tripped over himself. When he picked up his papers, he cleared his throat.

"So, you probably know by now that we have a new student coming in our class today. She's from Canada and speaks fluently in English, French and Japanese. She just moved here... so..." He laughed nervously and looked around the classroom. He noticed all of the students staring anxiously at the door."I'll just introduce her now..." He said, scurrying over to the door. He poked his head out the door and whispered for someone to come in. The class watched and gasped when the girl entered the room. The girl had a petite figure. She wasn't extremely short, but she was a bit shorter than most of the students. She has shimmering, thin, straight golden-blonde hair which went down to her hips. Her bangs faintly hid her right eye and it had a natural swoop starting from her chin down, also on her right side. She had large crystal blue eyes that sparkled, but showed an icy expression. She had fair skin that had no freckles. She wore her school uniform like anybody else would, and had a messenger book bag that resembled Amu's. She didn't make eye contact with any students. She just stared at the back of the classroom. Amu looked at her and wondered. _She reminds me of me on my first day here.. I was so nervous, I made everyone think I was the "Cool & Spicy" girl._ She then looked in front of her to see an empty desk. _ Maybe she'll sit there! _ Amu hoped. She looked back up to the front to see Yuu introducing the new girl.

"... So, this is Sukia Karei. She speaks English, French and Japanese. She's from Canada and is half-Japanese. She isn't used to Japanese customs, such as honorifics, so bear with her. So, if anybody wants to show her around the school..." He said, pretending to look for someone. "...Himamori-san!" He exclaimed, causing Amu to jump.

"It's HiNamori, and I can show her around, I guess." She said, crossing her arms, showing her stubborn side. In reality, she was actually happy to spend time with the new girl. "That's great, Himamori-san!" He exclaimed, causing Amu's eye to twitch in frustration. "Sukia-san can sit in front of you, Himamori-san." Amu twitched again. "Now, would you like to introduce yourself, Sukia-san?" he smiled, looking at Karei. She said nothing and walked over to her new desk, still wearing her icy expression. Everyone sweat-dropped. "Heh... That's alright, everybody gets nervous on their first day... Alright, it's time to start class." He said, and began to teach a lesson. Amu stared intently at the new girl. _I bet she's a wonderful person, she just needs help from friends to get her out of her shell._

Karei hadn't spoken a word the rest of the school day. Every time Yuu called on her to read aloud, she would ignore him and he would just give up.

After school, Amu began showing Karei around the school. Karei paid extremely close attention but didn't say a word. At the end of the tour, Amu had a brilliant idea.

"Hey! You should come to the Royal Garden with me! You can meet the Guardians, Sukia-san." Karei gave her a confused look, and Amu explained what the Guardians are. Karei understood and nodded. "Will you go, Sukia-san?" Karei nodded. Amu smiled and began walking off. Karei grabbed her arm and shook her head. She opened her mouth and spoke for the first time at Seiyo Elementary.

"My name is Karei, not Sukia-san. Call me Karei, Amu." She said in a silvery voice. **(A/N Silvery means clear, light and pleasant) **Surprisingly, she didn't sound as young as she looked, her voice sounded as mature a twelve-year-old's. Not a baby-ish voice but not a teen's voice; in the middle. Karei looked up at Amu. "I can call you that, right?" Amu nodded with a huge smile on her face. "I'll go with you tomorrow..." Karei said, staring at her bag. Amu nodded and noticed Karei's bag, which she was holding onto rather tightly.

"Why are you holding onto that so tightly?" Amu asked. Karei shifted on her feet nervously and looked down.

"N-no reason..." She muttered. Amu gave her a confused look. There was a long, awkward silence between them. Karei broke the silence. "I have to go home.. Bye!" And with that, she bolted through the door. She didn't stop running until she got out of the school gates and turned into an alley. She caught her breath, opened the flap of her book bag and scowled down at four peculiar eggs. "Which one of you were shaking in your eggs?" She whispered hoarsely.

A Chara popped out of a sky-blue egg with multiple rainbows bouncing from one white cloud to another. She had straight, thin, thigh-length rainbow-colored hair. She wore it down. She wore a hair clip that had a rainbow bouncing from one white puffy cloud to another. She had sky-blue eyes. She wore a strapless ruffled rainbow-swirled dress that went down to her mid-thigh. She wore matching rainbow ballet flats and rainbow sparkles surrounded her. Karei glared at her. "Niji, was it you?" She asked quietly.

"It was me..." Niji said.

"Niji! I was finally making a new friend and you had to go and make me look like a crazy person!" Karei exclaimed.

"You've got it all wrong. I sensed three guardian eggs near Amu, I wanted to meet them! If you let me out of the bag, we could've become even closer to Amu." She explained.

"I sensed them too, but I want to keep you guys hidden. I just met Amu and I want it to be a regular friend relationship. Plus, I'm not sure I can completely trust her yet." Karei said, closing the flap of her bag. Niji floated beside her.

"Is it just us in the house today?" Niji asked. Karei nodded.

"When isn't it? Nobody is ever home. It's not as quiet now that I have you, Maji and Melody. I've always had the cat, Nacho, but he's getting older." She said. There was a silence as Karei walked with Niji back to her house.

"...Karei?" Niji asked. Karei looked to Niji and nodded her head. "Were you lonely before all of us were born?" Karei stopped walking and turned to Niji.

"Only after Yumi killed herself..." Karei's eyes shadowed over for a moment, remembering a cruel memory. She quickly snapped out of it and smiled a sweet smile in Niji's direction. "Then, you guys showed up. I'm never lonely now. I love you guys more than anything in the world and that will never change." Niji teared up.

"We love you too!" Niji exclaimed in tears and hugged Karei's face. Karei smiled and hugged Niji back. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a golden egg that had various desserts all over it. She examined it carefully. She smiled._ I wonder what kind of Chara you'll turn out to be..._ She planted a small kiss on the egg and placed it back in her bag. She then began to walk to her house, unaware of the pair of scarlet eyes following closely behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Embarrassment, Introductions and Surprises!

**Yeah. That was my first chapter. Thanks so much for following, favoriting and reviewing this story! You all made my morning when I woke up and found I got a review and some follows! 3 **

**Pointless Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

The next day, Tadase and Kukai entered the gates of Seiyo Elementary. Kukai noticed that Tadase seemed distant and was staring at someone. He followed Tadase's eyes and found out that Tadase was staring at some girl walking right in front of them that Kukai didn't know. _I heard about her... Isn't she the new girl?_ Kukai decided that he didn't like how Tadase was acting so he decided to lighten the mood.

"Tadase!" Kukai laughed, pushing him a little bit.

"Whaa.. Huh? What is it, Soma-kun?" Tadase asked, snapping out of it. Kukai smirked.

"Don't tell me you're falling for the new girl! I thought you had a thing for Amu." He teased. Tadase blushed a bright red.

"Th-that's not true! Hinamori-san is just a friend." He tried to explain. Kukai laughed.

"Yeah, right!" He said, pushing Tadase again. This time, however, he was pushed hard enough that he fell forward. He instinctively grabbed on to the first thing he could reach. Which just so happened to be Karei's skirt. When Tadase fell down... so did her skirt. In front of almost all of the students. Luckily for her, she was wearing black shorts underneath her skirt, so her underwear didn't show. Karei whipped around, her face an unhealthy shade of red. She quickly picked up her skirt. She looked around and saw everyone was laughing at her, except for Kukai, who had a look of utter shock on his face. Tadase got up as soon as Karei was about to bolt off. Tadase grabbed her arm.

"W-wait.. I can-" He was interrupted when Karei swung her other arm around and produced an incredibly loud 'smack' when she smacked him across the face. Everyone fell silent and watched Tadase feel his stinging cheek.

"Don't touch me, PERVERT!" She screeched. She glimpsed at Kukai, turned around and bolted through the school door at break-neck speed. She dashed to the nearest restroom. She went in a stall, locked it, and sat there in silence, rethinking what had happened. A worried Niji came out of her egg to console her.

"Niji..." Karei asked.

"Yes?" Niji asked, caressing Karei's shoulder.

"I'm... so... embarrassed..." She sighed, burying her face in her knees.

"It could've been worse... You might not have had shorts on.. Or he would've pulled down your shorts and underwear too. You should count yourself lucky it was only your skirt." She reasoned. Karei looked up.

"Yeah, but I embarrassed myself in front of that cute guy with the orange hair!Did you see the look on his face? He looked like he was in complete shock!" She groaned. Suddenly, she heard a faint knock on the stall door. "Who is it?" She asked cautiously.

"It's Amu. Are you ok, Karei?" Amu said on the other side of the door. Karei's eyes widened and motioned for Niji to go back in her bag. Niji swiftly flew into her egg and Karei finally responded.

"H-how did you find me, Amu?"

"Unlock the door and come talk to me."

"O-ok.." Amu heard a click and the stall door slowly opened, revealing a red-faced Karei. "Now, answer my question. How did you find me?"

"Well, I was just entering the school when I saw everyone crowding around Tadase, he had a huge hand-shaped mark on his face. Then, he told me what happened and that Kukai went to find you..." Amu began.

"I take it, Tadase is the one that pantsed me and Kukai was the cute guy behind him?" Amu smirked.

"You didn't let me finish. I found Kukai outside the girls' bathroom door... He's still outside the door right now and can hear us right now." Karei gasped.

"Y-you mean.." Karei trailed off. Amu nodded.

"He also heard, "I embarrassed myself in front of that cute guy with the orange hair!"" Amu mimicked. Karei's jaw dropped and her face turned as red as a fire truck. She crept towards the door and slowly opened it. Sure enough, Kukai was leaning against the door and grinned at her.

"Yo!" He greeted. Karei squeaked. She stood there looking at the floor and managed a quick wave. "I just wanted to let you know it wasn't Tadase's fault that your skirt was pulled down. I pushed him and he accidentally pulled down your skirt."

"I know. I didn't mean to hurt him that badly.. It was an instinct. I was just so embarrassed..." She trailed off. Without warning, Niji popped out of Karei's bag and waved to Kukai.

"She also doesn't like apologizing because she feels like she 'lost'." Niji grinned at Karei, whose eyes were about to pop out of her head.

"NIJI! What did I tell you about popping out of nowhere!?" She cried, clutching Niji in her hands.

"It's fine, he has a Chara too.." She reassured. Karei rolled her eyes.

"I KNOW that. I sensed it when he walked behind me this morning. That Tadase kid has one too. Amu has them too..." She said, completely forgetting about Kukai and Amu's existence. She finally realized what she had said and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"You knew I had Charas?" Amu asked. Karei nodded.

"Three of them. I could tell as soon as I entered the classroom yesterday. I was hesitant about telling you about my four eggs because I just met you..." Amu held up a hand.

"Wait, wait, wait! You have FOUR Charas?" She asked incredulously.

"Well, four eggs. Only three hatched," she said, holding up the golden egg with various sweets on it. "This one hasn't hatched yet." Amu nodded.

"We should probably get to class, the bell will ring any minute." Amu said. "Bye, Kukai!" She said, running off to class. Karei turned back to Kukai. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. Kukai caught a glimpse of self-disappointment in her crystal blue eyes before she turned and ran after Amu.

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After school, Amu went to see Karei to bring her to the Royal Garden. When they arrived at the door leading into the Royal Garden, Karei showed no emotion on the outside, but on the inside, she was freaking out._ I'm so nervous! Amu told me they all have Charas, but I'm so afraid! I saw that hideous Royal Cape, what if they make me join and I have to wear that thing? _Amu interrupted her racing thoughts.

"Ready to go in?" She asked. Karei nodded and followed Amu into a luxurious garden with steps leading up to something that looked almost like a gazebo. When she climbed up the stairs, she saw four people sitting at a white table, drinking tea. They looked up and Karei froze. She saw two girls that she didn't know, Kukai and... Tadase. Yaya jumped up to greet Karei.

"Wow! You're so pretty! Who are you?" She asked, her eyes sparkling. Karei looked away and blushed for a brief moment. She quickly hid her emotions and responded.

"Sukia Karei."

"Woah!" Yaya exclaimed. "You're that new girl from Canada that's in Amu-chi's class!" Karei nodded. Nadeshiko stood up and greeted her.

"My name is Fujisaki Nadeshiko, the Queen's chair of the Guardians." She said, bowing. She gestured over to Yaya. "That's Yuiki Yaya, The Ace's chair." She then gestured to Kukai. "That is Soma Kukai, the Jack's chair." She smiled and gestured to Tadase. "And this is-" She was interrupted by Karei.

"Hotori Tadase, King's chair." Karei said, shooting an icy glare in Tadase's direction. Tadase seemed nervous.

"You two have met before?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Something like that..." She muttered, still not taking her eyes off of Tadase. Her gaze shifted to his cheek, which was surprisingly still red. She immediately softened her gaze and reached into her bag and pulled out an ice pack. She walked over to him and gently pressed it on his cheek. "Here...Take it." She said. He did so and she walked back to Amu.

"Would you like some tea, Sukia-san?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Sure, Nade-..no,..Fuji-... um..." She stuttered. She hung her head and held her finger up. "Give me a second..." She muttered, walking out of the Royal Garden.

Suddenly, they all heard someone, most likely Karei, scream in frustration. "DAMN THESE CONFUSING JAPANESE HONORIFICS!" Everyone cringed. Karei calmly walked back in like nothing happened. There was a silence.

"Do they not use honorifics in Canada?" Tadase asked, breaking the silence. Karei shook her head. "How do they address each other then?" Tadase asked. Karei paused.

"First off," she began, a magical chalkboard appearing behind her. "People in Canada and the United States introduce themselves by saying their first name first and their family name last. So, if Amu went to Canada, she would say "My name is Amu Hinamori." In Japan, however, she says "Hi, my name is Hinamori Amu." She paused and looked at everyone's amazed faces. She continued talking in her monotonous voice. "Then, you would address them by their first name, not their family name, even if you just met. In Canada, there is no such thing as -kun or -sempai or -chan. You address everyone equally, because, after all, we are all humans." She concluded. Everyone clapped at her presentation and the magical chalkboard disappeared.

"Well, you can just call us by our first names if it makes it easier." Nadeshiko smiled. Karei nodded.

"Also..." Karei added. "Would you like to meet my Charas?" Everyone except Kukai and Amu's jaws dropped.

"You are a Character Bearer too?" Tadase asked. Karei nodded.

"First... I'll introduce Niji." As if on cue, Niji popped out of Karei's bag. She twirled around in mid-air and smiled brightly at everyone.

"Wow! She's sparkly!" Yaya exclaimed.

"Next..." Karei said, reaching into her bag. She took out a dark purple egg that had an eight-pointed violet sparkle. "Is Maji. Come out, Maji." The purple egg shook and a Chara popped out. The Chara had chest-length dark purple curly hair. Most of it was hidden under the hood of her dark purple cloak, but a few curly locks hid the right side of her face. She had violet colored eyes and pale skin. Her dark purple cloak went down to the floor. There was a dark purple eight-pointed sparkle that attached two pieces of the material together, from either side of her neck, which kept the cloak from falling off. She wore a black sleeveless leotard and black ankle boots with small heels underneath her cloak.

She showed no emotion and didn't say a word. She waved to everybody and flew beside Niji.

"The last one..." She said, taking out a light blue egg with various navy blue music notes. "Is Melody." A Chara popped out of the egg. She had wavy chest-length light blue hair and midnight blue eyes. She wore a headband that had a dark blue quarter note on it. She wore a ruffled light blue crop top with different music notes on it and a ruffled light blue skirt that reached her mid-thighs. She wore fancy neon blue sandals with straps that wrapped around her legs and stopped right below her knee caps. She smiled brightly at everyone.

"Hey everyone!" She laughed, winking and giving a peace sign. She floated over beside Maji.

"There is another one, but she didn't hatch yet." Tadase's eyes widened.

"In total... You have four Charas?!" He asked incredulously. Karei shrugged.

"It's not really that amazing... It's just another way of saying I'm indecisive."

"Well, I'm going to get some tea for us all. So, you can sit between Kukai and Amu if you want, Karei." She said. Karei nodded. When Nadeshiko came back with the tea, Karei had already sat down and everyone was talking. Karei didn't show much emotion, as always, but occasionally participated in the conversation. She was extremely nervous as is, but ended up sitting beside someone who she could barely talk to. She sat there staring into her orange pekoe tea. She continued staring down into the orange beverage until she felt Kukai tap her shoulder. Her head snapped up.

"Huh?" She asked quickly.

"Why were your Charas born?" Tadase repeated. Niji, Maji and Melody each spoke up. Niji spoke first.

"I was born because Karei wants to show more emotion." She smiled.

"I was born because Karei wants to become stronger in her magic practices." Maji spoke up for the first time. Amu was confused.

"Magic? Like magic tricks?"

"No," Karei said. "Magic, as in, spells and rituals." Everyone paused.

"That actually exists?" Tadase asked.

"Why not? Charas do." Karei pointed out. She went back to staring at her tea.

"Why were you born, Melody?" Nadeshiko asked. Karei's eyes widened over the tea cup.

"I was born because Karei wants to be more confident when she sings in front of a crowd. She's an amazing singer, but she lacks confidence." Everyone turned to Karei, whose face was an unhealthy shade of red.

"You sing?" Kukai asked. Karei hesitated but nodded her head. Yaya's eyes lit up.

"OOH! Yaya wants to hear a song!" She exclaimed. Pepe floated up to Yaya's face.

"Sing for us,-dechu!" Karei shook her head vigorously.

"N-no. I couldn't do it even if I wanted to." She quickly chugged down her tea. "Thanks for the tea, gotta go. Bye." She quickly said and bolted through the door, followed my Niji and Maji. Melody turned to them all.

"I'm sorry, she just gets nervous when she sings in front of others because she is afraid they'll make fun of her singing." She apologized. "I have to go after her, bye." She said as she zoomed off.

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"Melody... Why did you have to add that last part..." Karei asked wearily.

"They needed to know what an amazing singer you are!" Melody responded. Karei continued walking and found a hill. Karei climbed over the hill and sat down at the bottom of the other side. She hugged her knees to her chest. She sat in silence whenever she felt a sudden surge of negative emotions shoot through her body. She shivered.

"Niji, you felt that too, right?" Karei asked. Niji nodded.

"It's an X egg."

"Alright, let's go find it." Karei said. She closed her eyes for a moment to try and sense where it could be. Her eyes snapped open. "Found it. Let's go!" She said, speeding off.

**Meanwhile, in the Royal Garden...**

"I wonder if Karei is okay.." Amu sighed, staring at Karei's empty seat.

"She's probably fine." Tadase reassured. Suddenly, all the Charas shuddered.

"Amu-chan! We can sense an X egg!" Ran exclaimed. Amu's eyes widened.

"Let's go, everyone!" Everyone nodded.

"My heart: Unlock!" Amu cried. "Character Transformation: Amulet Heart!"

"Character Change!" Yaya, Nadeshiko, Kukai and Tadase called out. When everyone was ready, they all followed the Charas to find out where the X egg was. When they got to the X egg, they found something interesting. They found Karei a few feet away from them, staring at the X egg. They all hid behind a tree that was nearby and watched. Their eyes widened when they heard Karei call out...

"My heart: UNLOCK!"

**Mwahahaha! Cliffie. Thanks again for the reviews, follows and faves. I hope I can update soon. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Character Transformation: Rainbow Dancer!

**Wow, guys! Thanks for the nice reviews and follows! If you have any questions, just PM me, ok? On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara or any of the songs used in this fanfiction. Just sayin'.**

_Previously, the Guardians' Charas sensed an X egg. Not only did they find the X egg, they also found Karei!_

"My heart: Unlock!" Karei called out. She and Niji were enveloped in a series of bright flashing colors; so bright, the Guardians had to shield their eyes. When the light faded, they looked to Karei. Her golden-blonde hair was now tied up in an elegant bun, which was held up by Niji's rainbow clip, with a few loose strands dangling in front of her face. She wore a bright, rainbow colored, sleeveless leotard with a puffy, rainbow colored tutu on top of her leotard. It reached her knee-caps. She wore light-blue ballet shoes with white laces that wrapped around her bare legs and stopped right underneath her knee-caps.

"Character Transformation: Rainbow Dancer!" Karei and Niji called. Karei still hadn't noticed the Guardians who watched her in awe from behind a large tree a few meters away. She looked at the X egg hovering in front of her. Her face softened and she gazed at the egg. "What's wrong?" She asked softly. "What made you put an X on your heart egg?" The X egg made some otherworldly noises and Karei slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"So you can't make friends? You think you hurt everybody close to you?" She repeated. The X egg shook in anger and nodded. She smiled sadly at it. "It's hard, right?" It nodded again. "I was in that place too. It hurts to feel like you hurt everybody." The X egg was trembling in anger. It suddenly began to rapidly shoot dark energy pellets at Karei. She stood there and opened up her arms and took all the pellets. Pain shot through her body but stayed calm and didn't dare let it show. Confused, the X egg ceased fire. "Is this what you want? To purposely hurt people?" She asked. The X egg looked down at the ground, then shook. Karei smiled and held out her hand. The X egg slowly floated down to Karei. She took the X egg in her hand and cradled it in her arms. "You don't need dozens of friends. Even a couple of good friends can make you happy. Trust me, I feel your pain. Almost nobody would talk to me in class because they were afraid of me. One girl talked to me, and now, I have friends! If I could make friends, so can you!" She said, grinning at the egg. The egg shook in disbelief.

"Impossible! Impossible! No friends!" It cried. Karei looked sad.

"But how can you say that? We're both friends, aren't we?" The X egg jumped out of her hand and spun around happily. "Now," She said, looking at the X egg. "Would you like me to free you from these negative emotions?" The X egg stopped spinning and nodded. "Alright, stay still!" She commanded. It did so.

"Rainbow Whip!" She called out. An object appeared in her hand. It had a white handle with a long, glowing, rainbow-colored ribbon. She spun in circles with the ribbon twirling around her body. "Ribbon Dazzle!" She cried, lashing out the ribbon. With great speed, it wrapped around the X egg. Suddenly, power started surging through the ribbon and when it got to the X egg, the X disappeared and the egg turned white. It looked at Karei, turned, and flew off. Niji flew out of Karei, who reverted back into her regular form.

"Great job! I think the Guardians can say the same." She said, winking at Karei. Karei whipped around to see the Guardians pop out from behind the tree.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Yaya exclaimed, twirling around. Kukai gave her a thumbs up and grinned.

"Nice job!" Amu nodded, smiling.

"You looked so beautiful and got rid of the X egg so quickly!"

"Even when you just stood there, you looked so elegant and graceful." Nadeshiko praised. Karei stared at the grass, not knowing what to do. An idea popped in Tadase's head.

"Why don't you join the Guardians?" He offered. Everyone nodded in agreement. Karei sucked in a breath and looked up.

"I refuse." She said blatantly. Everyone's jaws dropped.

"Why won't you join us?" Yaya whined.

"Because, the only reason you want me to join is because of my power and number of Charas." She said. "I sensed about 5 other people with Charas that either hatched, or were about to hatch, in our class alone. None of them were asked to join. Face it, you only want strength."

"That's not true!" Amu exclaimed. "We really like you Karei!"

"And I appreciate that, but I can't stand helping you for such a selfish reason." Nadeshiko was confused.

"'Selfish reason?'" Karei nodded and glared at Tadase, who shrank behind Kukai.

"Tadase's selfish reason. He doesn't care about other peoples' dreams. He only wants to fulfill his own. He wants to track down the Embryo, and use it to make his unachievable wish of ruling the world come true. Which, by the way, wouldn't turn out well. The humans would just overthrow you in a matter of days. I for one, care about peoples' dreams, and intend to do everything I can to protect them."

"H-how do you know about that?" Tadase asked.

"I can read peoples' thoughts." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"So, does that mean...you are our enemy?" Tadase asked. Karei rolled her eyes.

"Just because I won't join your little club, doesn't mean we are enemies. It means, I don't want to get attached to people in a group that will fall apart in a short amount of time." She explained. "Obviously, I'm still Amu's, and all of your, friends. We just aren't teammates. Goodbye." With that, she turned around and walked away. "Come on, Niji." She called. Niji sadly looked back at the Guardians and flew off towards Karei.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((SCEN E DIVIDER))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )

At a school assembly the next day, Karei stared up at the stage with a bored look on her face. She absentmindedly played with her golden-blonde hair, while the Guardians continued talking about boring stuff, like recent polls and such. She mentally praised herself for rejecting their offer. She was really glad she didn't have to wear those hideous capes.

"...One last announcement to make... new Guardian..." Tadase said. Karei snapped back into reality and stared intently at the stage._ Oh no... They better not do the same thing they did to Amu. There is no way in HELL that I'm joining. Not a chance._

"The new Guardian is.. Sukia Karei! She is the second Joker, and completes the deck of cards!" Nadeshiko announced. Karei felt her face starting to heat up when she felt everyone look at her._ Hide the blush! Hide the blush!_ Karei mentally screamed. She relaxed and felt the blush go away. She didn't dare look up. She acted as though nothing had happened and pretended to be spaced out. The Guardians ended the presentation and everyone returned to class.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((SCEN EDIVIDER)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) ))

After school, Karei decided to hang out at the bottom of the large hill she had found the previous day. She was supposed to be in the Royal Garden, but decided not to go, since she never agreed to anything. _They can't make me sign up for anything. I'll just do what I always do to relieve stress._

"Melody!" Karei called. Melody popped out of her egg.

"Ready to sing?" She grinned, poofing up a large microphone for Karei. Karei took it.

"I'm always ready." She grinned.

_Putting my defenses up,_

'_Cause I don't wanna fall in love._

_If I ever did that,_

_I think I'd have a heart attack..._

**Somewhere nearby...**

Kukai groaned. _Why do I have to go look for her? We shouldn't have forced her into it, she doesn't HAVE to come if she doesn't want to. Tadase insisted because the Founding King told him. Jeez..._ He mentally sighed.

"I've been looking for 15 minutes and I still haven't found her yet." He muttered to himself.

_**Never said yes to the right guy...**_

Kukai stopped. _Why does this voice sound so familiar... _He wondered. He looked around to see where the sound was coming from.

**Never had trouble getting what I want...**

**But when it comes to you I'm never good enough...**

It seemed to be coming from the bottom of the large hill he spotted. He curiously walked over to the hill and peeked over. To his shock, he found Karei singing with Melody a few meters down, oblivious to his presence.

_When I don't care,_

_I can play him like a Ken doll._

Kukai was amazed. Melody wasn't kidding when she said that Karei had a great voice. He seemed to notice that she was really singing how she felt.

_Won't wash my hair,_

_Then make him bounce like a basketball._

_But you, make me want to act like a girl,_

_Paint my nails and wear high heels._

_Yes you, make me so nervous that I just can't hold your hand..._

Kukai noticed that Karei had a slightly pained expression on her face. It wasn't physical, it was emotional.

_You make me glo-o-o-o-ow, _

_But I cover up won't let it sho-o-o-o-ow_

She sang. Since she practiced often, her breath control had gotten much better and she could hold notes for a long time.

_So, I'm _

_Putting my defenses up_

'_Cause I don't wanna fall in love_

_If I ever did that,_

_I think I'd have a heart_

_Ata-a-a-a-a-a-ack_

_I think I'd have a heart_

_Ata-a-a-a-a-a-ack_

_I think I'd have a_

_Heart attack_

She finished her singing and looked to Melody.

"How was it?" She asked.

Melody smirked.

"I dunno, ask Kukai." She said, winking in his direction. Karei whipped around to see Kukai, her face an unhealthy shade of red.

_I swear, her Charas ALWAYS know when we are near._ Kukai thought to himself.

"Y-you heard all of it?" She stuttered. Kukai shrugged.

"Just most of it." Her eyes widened. "Don't worry though, I think you did great."

He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. She sighed in relief.

"So, what are you doing here? Don't you have a Guardian meeting?" Karei asked, walking towards him.

"Yeah, they sent me to go get you. Come on, let's go!" He said enthusiastically. Karei crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nuh-uh, they can't force me to join and wear those hideous capes. It might've worked on Amu, but not me." She said.

"Come on! I spent 15 minutes looking for you and now you're gonna waste all my hard work?" He pouted childishly.

"Fine, I'll go with you, but I'm not going as a Guardian. Just a visitor. I will go with you on one condition." She stated.

"What?" He asked.

"You have to give me a piggyback to the Royal Garden. I refuse to walk." She said, sticking her nose up in the air. Kukai sighed, he bent down, motioning for Karei to get on his back. She got on his back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his torso. He held her legs in place.

"You're actually really light." He said, standing up with ease.

"So I've been told." She said. They just talked a bit until they got to the Royal Garden. Karei pushed the door open for Kukai. He nodded to her in thanks and walked to the gazebo. The Guardians were just sipping tea and looked up.

"Oh good, you found the new member." Tadase smiled. Kukai pulled out Karei's chair and set her down on it. He pulled out his own chair and sat down as well.

"When did I ever agree to joining?" Karei asked. "I'm not here as a Guardian, I just felt bad for making Kukai search for 15 minutes." Tadase tried to use his sparkle attack on her.

"But, wouldn't you feel bad about not joining since we tried so hard to get you to agree?" He asked, emanating sparkles and using the puppy-dog eyes. Amu squealed in excitement, totally hypnotized by his attack. Karei sat there unfazed.

"No." She said bluntly. Tadase went into his 'depression corner' and Nadeshiko patted him on the back."My reasons are: Not wanting to be part of Tadase's stupid plan, not wanting to have my group of friends split up in the Spring time, and not wanting to wear that horrible cape."

"You don't have to be part of his plan and you don't need to wear the cape If you don't want to. So.. Please join us!" Kukai pleaded. He tried using the sparkle attack as well. **It's SUPER effective!**

"F-fine..." She murmured. Everyone cheered. "One question though, Tadase."

"What is it?" He asked politely.

"Why were you following me home two days ago?"

**OOOOOOHHHHH! So yeah, remember that pair of scarlet eyes following Karei home? It was Tadase. The song I used in my fic was Heart Attack by Demi Lovato. Since I don't own it, it belongs to her. Do you guys like Karei+ Niji's new Character change? I like Rainbow Dancer myself. The Humpty Lock Split will most likely take place in the next chapter or two, so stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Taken Under

Karei's P.O.V (HAHAHA I'm gonna try P.O.V's for a bit.)

"Why were you following me home two days ago?" I asked.

"W-what?" Tadase stuttered. I continued to glare daggers at him.

"You heard me." I spat. I know he was there, I just pretended I didn't know at the time. I saw him follow me all the way to my house.

"W-well I... was with Kiseki and he told me he sensed Charas around you... so I followed you." He explained. I stared at him intently. He was lying. That wasn't the only reason.

"And..." I urged.

"And what? That is the only reason." He tried to sound convincing... It wasn't working.

"Liar." I stated. "There is some other reason. Now TELL ME." I demanded. He sighed.

"I was looking through your file, like I always do when there is a new student, and yours was blank. All it said was your name, age and birth date. No address, family members or anything. So I followed you to your house to add on to the file." He explained.

"That sounds like a violation of my privacy. Just because all the students like you, doesn't mean you can know everything about them, Guardian or not. Some things are meant to stay hidden or kept to themselves. NOT for the world, or anybody else, to know about. If I wanted you to know about my past, I would tell you. Obviously, now I know I shouldn't, because all you do is go behind people's backs because you can't stand being kept in the dark or respecting people's privacy." My voice was seething with anger and I felt myself hating everybody more and more. Why couldn't they respect my privacy? I AM allowed to keep to myself. It is MY dad that abused my younger sister, Kimi, it is MY parents who got divorced. He had no right to snoop around.

They didn't NEED to know. None of them tried to stop him from invading my personal life. Finally, it became too much and I turned around and stormed off. If I stayed any longer, I would've torn the place apart. I began to run towards the school building. I ran behind the building, my Charas trailing behind me. No one else was there. I pressed my back against the wall and slid down, hugging my knees to my chest.

What is the point in trying anymore? No one cares about me. Mom is never home. She's always working overtime at that huge company place. It was named after a holiday... Easter, maybe? Whatever.

_Then why don't you just give up? _A familiar male voice echoed in my head.

Wh-What? Am I crazy? I'm hearing voices... Why does this voice sound so familiar?

_You just thought about giving up, so why don't you? It's like you said, no one cares. Just give up on your hopes and dreams. Give in to the negative emotions. It's no good to keep them locked up inside. Express your hate and anger, Karei. _ The voice echoed in my head again. UGH! Where have I heard that voice before? I-I can't give up...

_Who are you still fighting for? Your family? The same family that mistreated and abandoned you? Or your so-called friends that didn't respect your privacy?_ The voice taunted me.

**GET OUT OF MY HEAD!** I mentally screeched at the disembodied voice. I clutched my head in agony. I squeezed my eyes shut and gritted my teeth. My Charas floated out of my bag and stared at me worriedly.

**I can fight you, so why don't you give up on trying to take over my mind? I can protect myself. **

I heard the voice snort.

_Oh really? You can protect yourself? Just like you protected your precious older sister? _That struck a nerve. My heart stopped briefly. _Speechless? Honestly, you are pathetic. You can't do anything right._

...He's right. I'm nothing but a poor excuse of a human. I couldn't protect Yumi, I couldn't protect Kimi. I couldn't even protect myself.

"... I'm worthless..." I droned out loud. I opened my eyes to find my Charas calling out to me, but I couldn't hear them, I was an empty shell. I saw my Charas desperately yelling something as they were being forced back into their eggs. I saw my fourth egg fly out of my bag and line up with the other three eggs hovering in the air. Their colors went dark and a white X appeared on all of them. I felt nothing as I watched this entire thing go down. I couldn't protect my Charas. My vision faded to black as I was taken over by the negative emotions that dwelled inside of me.

**Kukai's P.O.V**

Wow. I didn't think Tadase would follow Karei home. That's kinda creepy. VERY creepy. No wonder he was staring at her so much. She ran off a while ago, I think Tadase struck a nerve or something. The others sat there in silence wondering what to do.

"Should we go look for her?" I asked suddenly, breaking the silence. Amu nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'm afraid something might have happened to her." Amu said. "I'm getting a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach." Everyone nodded and started searching for Karei. Yaya and Nadeshiko looked in one direction, Amu and Tadase looked in another, and I was left alone. Figures. With a sigh, I started walking towards the school building.

"KAREI!" I heard from behind the school building. "Do something! Please wake up!" I heard the desperate cries of 3 Charas. Karei's Charas. I sprinted to where I heard the voices. What I saw was shocking. I saw Karei standing up against the wall, her eyes closed and four hovering X eggs surrounding her. Her eyelids snapped open as I moved closer. She took two steps away from the wall, moving almost roboticly, and turned to face me. Her eyes were blank and glazed over, like a curtain had been shut behind them. A sad frown formed on her face as she stared at me.

"...Karei?" I asked. She remained silent. "What happened?" Her lower lip began to quiver and tears started to form in the corners of her blank eyes.

"...Why do you like me?" She asked quietly. "I'm useless, and weak. I'm worth nothing." She whispered.

"You aren't useless, you are worth something. Don't think that way! You have a family that cares abou-" I was cut off.

"SHUT UP!" She roared, her fists clenched at her side, her teeth gritted and her eyes shut. My eyes widened with surprise.

"My family..." She whispered bitterly. "Hates me."

"I'm sure they don't-" I tried again, but I was cut off yet again.

"I haven't seen my older brother since he left for college, my dad abused my mother, me and my younger sister, Kimi." My mouth opened slightly as she continued. "I almost killed him for what he did to my little sister. Not only did he abuse her, he raped her multiple times and I didn't find out for the longest time. I attacked him and beat him out of rage, putting him in a hospital. He's in a coma now, and has been for the past year. I hated him. I hated him more than anything in the world. Well, almost. I hated myself more for not being able to protect Kimi, or... or Yumi." A tear slid down her cheek at the mention of 'Yumi'. "Yumi was my older sister and my best friend. I had no friends in Canada, I was either bullied or ignored, but she was always there for me."

"...Was?" I asked myself quietly, and looked up in horror when I realized what she meant.

"Yumi had a secret life at school that none of us knew about. She was being bullied, online and in person. And then..." More tears slid down her cheeks. "Then..." She tried to continue. "Then Yumi-"

"KAREI!" Amu screamed, the others following behind her. Karei turned around stiffly. Amu came to a sudden halt when she caught a glimpse of her best friend.

"Don't come near me, I'm not worth your time." Karei said, staring at the ground.

"I'm not worth anybody's time." She droned on. She suddenly fell backwards unconsciously as the X eggs surrounding her hatched into 4 X Characters. I caught her and set her down gently up against the school building. The X Characters began to attack everyone with devious grins on their faces. One shot black sparkles, one screeched and black music notes were shot at everyone, one shot some weird black sludge and the other made black thunderclouds appear and try to strike everyone with lightning. Amu transformed into Amulet Heart and nimbly dodged all of the projectiles. Everybody jumped and ducked to avoid getting hit.

"Karei, why are you doing this?" Amu asked worriedly, dodging the sludge. Suddenly, an apparition of Karei appeared. She clutched her head, her eyes shut.

"No good... It's no good! I'm useless! All I do is hurt people, no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to save anybody!" She cried.

"No, that isn't true, if you try harder, you can save people!" Amu smiled, trying to calm her down. It had the opposite effect. The X Characters fired even faster.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT SO CALMLY?!" Karei screeched. "NOT EVERYONE IS SO HELPFUL AND LUCKY AS YOU ARE!" She gritted her teeth. "You have a real family, no matter how much you find your parents annoying sometimes, you should appreciate them. Because not everyone has such kind parents. You don't even have to try to make friends, everything is just handed to you on a silver platter, isn't it? The lock, your powers, your friends. You think everything is so easy and that you can do anything, but you can't! It isn't that simple! Because of me... Yumi was killed, I couldn't save her! I couldn't do anything! You have no idea what it's like to truly be unlucky, or unloved or unable to protect people dear to you. NO IDEA!" She ranted.

Amu looked hurt and slowly processed what Karei had said. Amu slowly realized Karei was right and was speechless. I had to step up and say something to calm Karei down. At this rate, we were all going down in flames.

"Karei!" I called to her. The apparition turned to me. "It wasn't your fault that Yumi died! You are not worthless, you are worth way more than you would ever know! Those kids in Canada were idiots not to notice how kind you are. We've seen how much your Charas love you, if you were a bad person, they wouldn't exist, let alone love you! You have to calm down and talk to us. I promise I won't let anybody snoop around in your business and I will protect you from bullies, okay?" I offered. The tears stopped falling, the X Characters ceased fire and she gasped and blushed.

"Y-you will? B-but why?" She stuttered.

"'Cause we're friends, right?" I grinned at her. Tears slid down her cheeks once more, but these were tears of joy. She smiled at me and nodded. The apparition disappeared. I nailed that speech and I was totally winging it. I meant everything I said, but I had no idea how to word it, I was afraid she would explode at me... But of course it worked! I AM smooth with the ladies, after all. The red X's on the heads of the X Characters cracked, broke and disappeared. A white light surrounded all of them and they reverted back to eggs.

**Karei's P.O.V**

I was greeted by the warm sun and the fresh smell of grass as I woke up in the middle of a grassy area on school grounds. I stretched and sat up to find everyone crowding around me. My Charas stared at me worriedly, and the egg with various desserts was right beside me. As vague memories flooded into my mind, my eyes widened.

"I... I was overcome by the darkness... wasn't I?" I asked, ashamed of myself. Everyone nodded.

"I'm... sorry for what I said, Amu."

"No, you were right, I was taking everything for granted." She admitted. I smiled at her, cradling my fourth egg in my arms. All of a sudden, I felt the egg shake. I gasped and waited. Another shake, this one more noticeable than the last. Suddenly, it hatched, revealing the fourth Chara. She had straight ankle-length golden-blonde hair that was tied in twin ponytails with silver ribbons and sparkling electric blue eyes. She had rosy red cheeks and fair skin. She wore a sleeveless, sparkling silver Cinderella ball gown that had a sweetheart neckline with golden ballet flats. She giggled childishly and curtsied.

"Hi! My name is Shuga!" She said sweetly, her voice was bubbly and peppy.

I smiled brightly.

"Hi Shuga!" I said, hugging her close. I let her go and she met with the other Charas and the Guardians.

"Wow! Your Chara is so _cute_, Karei!" Amu exclaimed. I suddenly froze.

"C-cute?" I repeated. Shuga giggled.

"Character Change!" Shuga exclaimed. A silver ribbon appeared on my head and my cheeks became a rosy red. To everyone's surprise, including mine, I giggled exactly like Shuga.

"Aww! Thanks Amu! That deserves a hug!~" I sang childishly as I glomped Amu. "Everybody deserves hugs!~" I sang again, glomping everyone in sight. When I finally came back to her senses, I curled up in a ball, humiliated at what I had just done.

"What... was THAT, Shuga?" I asked incredulously. Never have I ever done that before.

"Well, I Character Change with you after you hear the C word or the S word." She explained. Yaya's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Cute and sweet?" She piped up. I froze again as a silver ribbon appeared on my head.

**AND... Done! Long chapter here, over 2000 words. I hope it makes up for how long I took to update. School and life just got in the way. And laziness. The Humpty Lock WILL split soon enough. Next chapter, I think. Don't expect too much out of me, because I'm also making a Fairy Tail fanfic, and I've been itching to work on that for some time now. You are lucky I felt bad for not updating, or else this wouldn't be updated for a while. Thanks for reviewing and reading this far! I hope you like Karei's Character Change and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Bye!**

**~Marina**


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